Elaine McVey, TransLoc’s Municipal Market business owner, and I exchanged glances as we left a lunch meeting. We had just spent an hour listening to the struggles of two folks who are desperately trying to make positive changes within their company. As they walked out of earshot, I turned to Elaine and said, “We are so lucky to be working here.” Elaine replied with “I agree,” and we spent the next few moments discussing why we are grateful to be working at our company. As we spoke, I highlighted the three main reasons I feel fortunate to be at TransLoc.

The first and most personal reason that I enjoy coming in to work each day is the leadership support of Agile at TransLoc. I realize that this might sound self-serving considering I head up the Agile team, but I think you’ll understand when I explain further. At the heart of Agile is the idea of “making people awesome.” It’s about building a kick-ass environment where great people can do great things. Give them the environment they need to succeed and trust them to get the work done. Our leadership team wholeheartedly supports this idea, which is rare. Unfortunately, from what I see and hear, we are the exception to the rule. We are lucky to have a leadership team who wants to see their people do great things and gives them the tools and opportunity to do so.

Secondly, we are fortunate to be at this company because there is an understanding that change requires patience, transparency, and iteration. We don’t expect immediate results. While we encourage moving swiftly and smartly, we understand it takes time for change to occur. We have leaders who believe in transparency. They are honest and loyal and steer clear of empty talk. When change doesn’t go the way we want it to and we’ve had sufficient time to learn, we iterate.

The final reason why I feel so lucky to be at this company is because of the investment in our people. The gentleman we were speaking to at lunch couldn’t get approval to spend $120 for a conference that would provide great training for him and his colleagues. At TransLoc we are each given $1,500 annually to spend on professional education and development. This provides a win-win situation for both the company and its employees, allowing everyone to continue and grow and meet our career goals through assisted professional development.

Overall, it’s pretty great to be here. Sure there are bad days when things don’t go the way we’ve planned, which can feel overwhelming. But at the end of the day when you look at all we have going for us, the truth is that TransLoc is a very special place to work. We are building something special here, together.

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Eric Hannan is TransLoc’s Enterprise Agile Coach. When he’s not preaching the Agile Manifesto you can find him riding his motorcycle and hanging out with his rescue dog Chopper.